LeBron James on GM Koby Altman: 'He did a heck of a job'

Speaking to reporters following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 120-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James commended a different rookie than the one he’s been so supportive of this season.

Instead of complimenting rookie small forward Cedi Osman (which has become something of a regular occurrence for the entire team), James applauded Cavs rookie general manager Koby Altman for the deals he made ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.

“I think Koby did a heck of a job of understanding what our team needed,” James said. “It just wasn’t working out for us and he felt like, obviously you guys saw his quotes, he made the changes that he felt best fits our team. Then it’s on me to make sure the new guys that come in, I make sure they fit in and make it as seamless as possible.”

Three trades.

The first, a deal sending the malcontent Isaiah Thomas, fan favorite Channing Frye and their own first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., two athletic 25-year-old playmakers under contract through the 2019-2020 season.

The second, a three-team trade that reunited Utah Jazz swingman Rodney Hood and Sacramento Kings point guard George Hill as they joined the Cavs’ perimeter unit. In exchange, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose to the Jazz and Iman Shumpert to the Kings.

The final deal, a trade that sent Dwyane Wade to the Miami Heat with his approval and James’ blessing.

Each deal made purposefully and dutifully. In a recent article penned by ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs were certain about three things regarding these deals:

Whatever incarnations of deals emerged and re-emerged, the Cavaliers organization was sure of this: Isaiah Thomas had to go, Dwyane Wade deserved to make a decision on his own and, ultimately, Cleveland couldn’t give LeBron James reason to leave so easily in July.

Thomas, as previously mentioned, was discontent in his time in Cleveland. He felt the team didn’t practice enough or trust each other enough on the court. He also played poorly for most of his time there but chose to deflect blame and criticism on his teammates and coaching staff. The results? Poor play on the court and a souring mood so heavy that it seemed to fracture the locker room.

The tradeoff of Frye for Nance Jr. was much more simple. Nance is to defense and effort what Frye is to three-point shooting and jokes. Trading the hobbled Thomas and lead-footed Frye for two athletic players with vibrant personalities was only going to help the team compete for a championship.

Wade was going to be a casualty of the Cavs regardless thanks to the youth movement.

Unless Lue believed Wade was a reason James seemed to be both distant and completely frustrated with his team, the rationale is a bit confusing. No matter what, though, Wade was going to have a different role after the trades than he had before.

With that said, the temperament of his teammates, the mood in the locker room and going 2-10 between December 25th and January 15th (a stretch bookended by losses to the Golden State Warriors) were all factors that threatened to push James away from the team.

An unwillingness to use the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick as most of the potential stars they could add were unavailable, with the idea that it was a pick that could be used to select James’ successor, was also a dynamic at play.

Altman certainly had the right problems on his mind with the deals and deserves praise for his deal-making on such a fateful day. He didn’t fear what he couldn’t control. It may have saved both the Cavs’ season and their offseason, by keeping the King at home.

Since their arrival, here are the stats of the new Cleveland Cavaliers.

In two games with the #Cavs, Rodney Hood (@rodneyhood) is averaging 14.5 points and 1.5 steals per game. He's shooting 52.5% from the field and 50% from three (7 attempts per game).

In two games with the #Cavs, George Hill (@George_Hill3) is averaging 9.5 points, 2.5 assists, 1.5 turnovers and 0.5 steals per game. He's shooting 40% from the field and 37.5% from three (4 attempts per game).

In two games with the #Cavs, Jordan Clarkson (@JordanClarksons) has averaged 15.5 points. 2.5 assists and 1 steal per game. He's shooting 61.9% from the field and 57.1% from three (3.5 attempts per game).